Volcanic Red Alert – Residents Evacuated From El Hierro Town

A Red Alert has since been issued by local authorities for the town of La Restinga, the southern-most village in the Canaries.

Canary Islands -MODIS satellite image -11Oct11

A notice posted on the Emergencia El Hierro website today stated: “Phase pre-eruptive. It involves the initiation of a preventive evacuation. Make yourself available to the authorities.”

Scientists on a reconnaissance flight over the sea south of the island have spotted dead fish floating on the surface 3 miles (5 km) from the coast in an area where lower seismic activity occurred on October 9.

Undersea volcanic activity is believed to now be occurring at a depth of 600 metres (1/3 mile) below sea level, in the Las Calmas sea.

Efforts are underway to determine if the subsea volcanic vent is widening and if so, whether it is widening away or toward El Hierro.

This kind of thing can worry and upset people, but owing to the fact that the original speculators of the massive “wall of death” cooked up their hypothesis years back…since then a lot of what they claim has been studied (by insurance companies & others).

If the volcanic activity is getting stronger in this area, Cumbre Vieja on island La Palma could cause a mountain-slide down into the ocean to create a great tsunami. Doubt that will happen any day soon though. But I could be wrong.

Call me stupid, I guess. I looked at the information on the lapalma-tsunami page, and to be honest, I saw a lot of statements being made that I am not sure I much agree with. It reminds me too much of the same sort of nay saying I’ve read regarding the BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. Yep, I rather thought it was as much “cooked” information as the “scare-mongering” they were talking about. Science may have some idea of what might happen, but until something does, we are all playing with computer models. Could a tsunami reach the US from there? Why not? It doesn’t have to be 100 feet tall, but to pretend that it wouldn’t reach the US is a little absurd. Why? Because Krakatoa’s tidal wave did, and yes, it wasn’t big, but it was measured. And that after making a hard right around Africa. The down talking about the potential makes sense for an insurance company, to, since if the tsunami really did happen, they probably wouldn’t have to pay out anything since there probably wouldn’t be a lot of survivors, and, just remember, most insurance polices have an “act of God” rider that would certainly get them out of paying anyway.

I would just keep posted on the latest updates on this and keep a weather radio alert handy just incase. If it goes off and it’s a tsunami warning, get out and head inland ASAP. If you wake up at night (on the east coast) and you hear a roaring sound and shaking, it’s probably too late.

There has been mega eruptions in human history ..just not where people where at the time Taupo in NZ was mega dwarfed Mt St Helens. Sent a wall of pumice/ rhyolite that went up the North Island and over hills at 300m alt 300km away! And sent debrise 40km up! Was the biggest eruption in the past 2000 years. If that had been in central Europe well that would have been the end of the Roman empire in a day!